Basically from recent experiences they seem to still be allowing co-terminal changes which is very helpful for situations like explained above. I've also been monitoring the fare buckets for the routes that I frequently travel on and usually inventory is available on the flights that I fly.
This new "enhancement" only really APPEARS to screw me on personal travel on the cheap fares (LUT and the new ones) as unless the flights are wide open no availability will show on day of.